Katy Appleton, appleyoga (UK)

Katy Appleton is the Founder of appleyoga

What is happiness to you?

Happiness to me is what’s going on inside, which is what I call the inner landscape. So, what I do on the outside, how I interact with others, my choices in life, etc. ultimately help keep me connected to a baseline of contentment, peace, truth and joy within. Life still presents its challenges of course and I’m certainly not immune to situations or emotions. However, I can use tools especially meditation and yoga to attune me to what is fundamentally always present, which is if you deeply listen and connect to that baseline of peace.

How did you come to your current level of positivity and what did you have to overcome to achieve it?

It has definitely been a lifelong process; there has been a lot of unpicking, unpacking and evaluating of what serves and what doesn’t through my adult life, coupled with a regular meditation and yoga Sadhana (practice).

How can one maintain good mental and physical health, and stay upbeat with a busy job like yours?

It’s important to create a habit of doing some self-work that helps you connect to your inner happiness. In my case, I do twice daily 20 min Vedic meditation. It was a great way for me to bring some stillness and peace within. I first started this practice about 2.5 years ago, being a busy tired mum of two little kids and the benefits are truly tangible in my everyday life in how I show up to myself and my young family.

I believe we all need to do a certain type of practice, whether it’s meditation, yoga etc, but it has to be done on a regular basis to truly reap the benefits on a deep sustainable level. One needs to create a habit to do that short daily practice, to connect to the inner landscape within, to slow the nervous system and to connect to someone more than just the acceleration of life.

Through your work as a yoga teacher, how do you help people stay happier?

I teach yoga not only on the physical level, but also on the spiritual, emotional and mental levels, trying to bring people into contemplation. Of course, the physical aspect of the yoga practice is always there, but now when I train future yoga teachers, I focus on the mental and emotional levels to support their student also. As that is our full spectrum as a human, so therefore we need to speak to all aspects in order for inner change, realisation to occur. Physical body is the way in for many to transform, so we can release what binds on all levels. It’s not what we do but how we do it.